Papa Lehmann's aspic

Ingredients for 6 servings:

• 1 kg pork knuckle(s)
• 2 liters of water
• 4 peppercorns
• 2 juniper berries
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 onions
• 2 carrots
• Salt
• Vinegar
• e.g. gelatin for 2 l of liquid
• 6 small gherkins
• possibly peas from the can

Instructions

Working time approx. 3 hours; Rest time approx. 2 hours; Total time approx. 5 hours

Wash the meat thoroughly and add cold water (2 liters), the spices, bay leaf, peeled onions, and carrots to a pan, and simmer for 2 hours (40 minutes in a pressure cooker!). Do not add salt! Then remove the cooked meat from the bones and cut into bite-sized pieces. If you like, add some rind, but I don’t use the fat. Soak the gelatine according to the instructions. Finely chop the cooked carrots and a few pickled cucumbers. Strain the broth through a sieve and season with salt and vinegar. Add the gelatine to the broth according to the package instructions. Divide the meat, finely chopped carrots, and pickled cucumbers, if desired, evenly into 6 dessert bowls. The amount of each is up to you. I personally like lots of pickled cucumbers and allow for one small cucumber per bowl. Now fill the bowls with the broth and refrigerate. Once cooled, turn the bowls out. We usually eat this aspic with onions on fresh bread. When I was a child, my dad only made this aspic once a year, between Christmas and New Year’s Eve, and we always loved it!